- Navajo Nation nears 30K COVID-19 cases since pandemic began
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported six more deaths and 18 new cases of COVID-19 as the total number of cases approaches the 30,000 mark since the pandemic began. The latest numbers pushed the tribe's pandemic total to 29,987 confirmed cases and 1,228 known deaths. The Navajo Nation had a soft reopening Monday with 25% capacity for some businesses under certain restrictions. Still, mask mandates and daily curfews remain. Tribal President Jonathan Nez is strongly urging all residents to limit their travel to only essential activities. He says now is not the time to go on vacation or to hold large in-person gatherings on the reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
- New Mexico pot legalization bill advances as time runs short
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Legislation to legalize cannabis in New Mexico is scheduled for a decisive Senate floor vote under a framework that emphasizes government oversight of pricing and supplies along with social services for communities where the criminalization of pot has led to aggressive policing. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth scheduled a vote on a bill Friday to legalize cannabis consumption and sales to people 21 and over. Critics say the proposed regulatory framework may foster a powerful, government-protected monopoly. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says the pot industry can help the state economy emerge from the pandemic slump. Legislators have discarded a Republican-sponsored proposal that stressed low taxes.
- New Mexico lawmakers send childhood funding bump to voters
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state Senate is sending to voters a constitutional amendment that could increase funding for early childhood and K-12 education by hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The passage of the proposal is a victory for Democrats who have tried to increase the withdrawal of funding from the Land Grant Permanent Fund for over a decade. The measure would increase withdrawals from the fund by 1.25%, with most of the money going to early childhood education and some going to K-12 schools. The state's $20 billion endowment has doubled in the past 11 years thanks to oil and gas royalties and market investments. The proposal's critics say future revenues could fall.
- House OKs Dems' immigration bills for Dreamers, farm workers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to open a gateway to citizenship for young Dreamers, immigrant farm workers and other migrants who fled to the U.S. from war or natural disasters abroad. Thursday's votes give Democrats wins in the year's first votes on immigration. The issue faces a steep climb in the Senate because Republicans are demanding that immigration bills contain steps to toughen border security. One bill offers legal status to around 2 million Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and to others. A second measure offers legal status to 1 million immigrant farm workers, about half the nation's agricultural labor force.
- New Mexico governor signs prescribed fire measure
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed legislation that will clear the way for more prescribed fires as New Mexico deals with worsening drought and climate change. The measure clarifies liability for private landowners who conduct prescribed burns. Officials with the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department say that will make it easier and more affordable for landowners to get insurance. They say similar legislation in other states has resulted in increased prescribed burning. Supporters of the measure says the intensity of recent fire seasons underscores the need for action. The governor also signed other bills related to the minimum wage and education.
- New Mexico updates horse racing rules, preps for live racing
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Horse racing regulators in New Mexico have adopted several changes to the state's doping rules to align with the latest guidelines and recommendations issued by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The amendments come as tracks here and elsewhere brace for implementation next year of a new federal law that aims to set national medication and safety standards for the industry. The executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission said Thursday the constitutionality of the new law is being challenged by a national horsemen's group. He also said the commission's staff is getting ready for live racing to resume in the state.
- New Mexico Legislature approves trapping ban on public land
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill that prohibits the use of wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico has won the approval of the state Legislature. A 35-34 vote of the state House on Thursday sent the measure to the governor for consideration. The vote reflects a shift in attitudes toward animal suffering and new unease with use of steel foot traps and wire snares that many ranchers still swear by. Separately, the Legislature hit a stalemate over an initiative to rein in interest rates on small, short-term loans. The state Senate rejected amendments by the House to a bill that initially capped interest rates at 36% annually.Emergency sites for migrant children raising safety concerns
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A former camp for oil field workers that is now housing immigrant teenagers has emerged as a trouble spot in the Biden administration's response to growing numbers of children arriving at the border. The U.S. government has stopped taking immigrant teenagers to the converted camp amid questions about the safety of emergency sites it is setting up in border states. The Associated Press has learned that the converted camp has been plagued by multiple issues just five days after the Biden administration opened it amid a scramble to find space for immigrant children.